The Yankees begin the second half of the season 4.5 games behind the Red Sox in the AL East. A wild-card spot should be secure, but the Yankees have a lot of work to do if they hope to catch Boston and win the division. They were just 4-4 in their final eight games before the break, so the Yankees need to start the second half strong.

The Mets, meanwhile, are just playing out the season. Despite a brilliant start to the year, they have the fewest wins in the National League. The club will likely trade a few players before the end of the month. However, the Mets are close to full strength for now, and will even get YoenisCespedes back from a long DL stint on Friday.

In 12 starts this season, German is 2-4 with a 5.97 ERA, with three of his last four starts before the break being rather disappointing. However, he did have a nice outing when he faced the Mets in June, striking out nine in six innings while allowing three runs on five hits. But with Cespedes back and Adrian Gonzalez no longer at first base, the Mets will look a little different from the team he faced in June.

On the season, Syndergaard is 5-1 with a 2.97 ERA, so if he gets back to form, he’ll have a chance to keep the Yankees contained. The current crop of Yankees is just 3 for 25 against Syndergaard, including Giancarlo Stanton, who is 0 for 11 with six strikeouts against Syndergaard. Of course, the man they call Thor has never faced the likes of Aaron Judge, Miguel Andujar, or Gary Sanchez, who has just returned from the DL.